


summer, do you feel me?

by ThunderstormsandMemories



Series: fifteen days of f@tt [2]
Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: 15 Days of FatT, 15 Days of FatT 2019, Beaches, F/F, Fluff, Seagulls - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-08
Updated: 2019-03-08
Packaged: 2019-11-13 15:59:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18034715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThunderstormsandMemories/pseuds/ThunderstormsandMemories
Summary: in which the Chime goes on vacation, and Aria and Jacqui have a boardwalk date





	summer, do you feel me?

**Author's Note:**

> for the 15 days of fatt prompt "boardwalk"
> 
> yes this is just the space jersey shore
> 
> title is from the beach by all time low

When Aria mentioned to Cass that it had been too long since she’d had a proper vacation, and that it would be nice to see the rest of the Chime more often, she hadn’t expected them to set up a trip for all of them to a busy little beach town on the far side of Apostolos, somehow using their remaining influence as a member of the former royal family to make sure no paparazzi knew about it. It wasn’t like it was a quiet, out-of-the-way place that rarely got news from the wider star sector, it was just that everyone else there was so impatient and self-important and determined to have a good goddamn vacation that they would shove you over if you got in their way, without looking at you closely enough to realize that you were a sector-famous pop star. Probably no one would’ve cared even if they did notice, because not even a sector-famous pop star was going to stand between these tourists and their perfectly selected patch of sand.

It reminded Aria a little bit of JoyPark at its peak, except that it was real in a way JoyPark had never been, and she loved it.

She didn’t love being elbowed in the side by someone cutting in front of her in the ice-cream line, somehow oblivious to her offended glare and Jacqui’s biceps, and she didn’t love how long they had to wait to pile into a crowded trolley car at the end of the day to be brought back to their motel, but she loved how happy everyone was, underneath all the pushiness, and how completely anonymous she could somehow be, how for once she and her wife (being able to think of Jacqui as _her wife_ never got old, no matter how long it had been true) could just be any other couple on a date.

She and Jacqui did eventually get their ice-cream, piled high with rainbow sprinkles, without too much more hassle, and they stood at the railing at the edge of the boardwalk, the plastic boards painted to look like wood hot beneath her sandaled feet.

Aria leaned her head against Jacqui’s shoulder, glad that the metal of either of their prosthetics didn’t heat up in the sun as much as the boardwalk did, and sighed happily.

“What’s up, babe?” Jacqui said.

“Nothing,” Aria said. When she breathed in she could smell the lotion Jacqui used, sharp and sweet, above the mix of sunscreen and sweat and salty sea breeze and fried food from the next stand over, and it made her feel suddenly overwhelmingly fond. “I just love you a lot, you know?”

“I love you too,” Jacqui said, and Aria leaned up on her tip-toes to kiss Jacqui on the cheek, leaving a smear of lipstick that matched the color of Jacqui’s hair. Aria hadn’t even noticed when she’d picked out that particular shade, but it was obvious now why she’d been drawn to that color.

They stood together in silence for a moment, just enjoying the comfortable fact of each other’s company, though silence was perhaps a generous word for it, considering the chatter of the crowd behind them on the boardwalk and in front of them on the beach, mingling with the whispering of the crashing waves and the continuous yelling of the seagulls as they battled tourists over custody of their lunches.

Also, the sound of Mako cursing out the seagull that had just stolen his pizza, which he’d only set down for a second to put the finishing touches on his sand castle, and now he was futilely waving his middle fingers at the sky, nearly trampling his sand castle in the process. AuDy somehow managed to give off the aura of someone rolling their eyes and shaking their head, which was impressive considering they had neither eyes nor a neck, and they tried to get Cass to join in teasing Mako with them, but Cass was busily shoving fried dough into their mouth with one hand, powdered sugar spilling down the front of their shirt, and clutching a plastic fork like a spear in their other hand, ready to fend off any seagull that dared get too close.

“Wanna go swimming now?” Jacqui said, once they’d been finished their ice-cream cones, though not quickly enough to prevent the ice-cream from melting and dripping onto their hands, and then she cast a doubtful glance at the beach, at the solid wall of blankets and umbrellas. “If we can get there.”

“Scared of a few tourists?” Aria said. “I’ll race you. First one to the ocean wins.” And then she gave Jacqui a quick kiss on the lips and vaulted over the railing.

In the end neither of them really won, because Aria had technically made it through the crowd and onto the wet sand first, but Jacqui had been close behind and tackled her, and they’d both fallen down as the next wave hit them, laughing as they were tossed by the churning sea, exchanging kisses with saltwater on their lips.


End file.
